Sewing

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Tutorial: Eco-chic shopping bag from a t-shirt

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EDITOR’S NOTE:  Many thanks go out to the readers who pointed out the striking similarity between this bag and one made by the talented Pascale from //between the lines//.  Craft Gossip linked out to Pascale’s bag last March (see the post). 

The project at Good Housekeeping came to my attention yesterday and, while the slashed t-shirt knit reminded me of Pascale’s bag, I thought it was nothing more than a coincidence.  In a creative community, ideas often travel around between designers as each puts their own spin.  It was not until I saw the comments from our readers and viewed the two projects side by side on my computer that I saw just how similar the two projects are.  I cannot speak to the motivations of the folks at Good Housekeeping, whether they intended to copy the original by //between the lines// or not.  In fact, with no date appearing on the Good Housekeeping post, I cannot make a definitive statement regarding which post was published first. 

What I can do, though, is thank everyone again for having Pascale’s back and making sure that she gets credit for her very creative idea.  This is what I love about the creative blog community!  And for those who haven’t seen it already, check out Pascale’s Quick Fix T-Shirt Shopping Bag.

Good Housekeeping has a tutorial for making an ec0-chic shopping bag out of an old t-shirt.  It’s a quick project, requiring just a few seams and cutting a lot of slits.  Get the how-to.

[photo from Good Housekeeping]

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Comments

  5. this is a great idea repurposing old t-shirts & saving on plastic shopping bags. I have made one last March using the original tutorial for this on the blog Between the lInes. Try this tutorial if you need pictures to help you along, it is very detailed.

    Reply

Have you read?

Learn All About Sewing Velvet Fabric

 

I’m always tempted by the pretty velvets at the fabric store.  So much texture!  And the way the fibers catch the light!  But sewing on velvet is trickier than you’d think.  That nap that lends beautiful texture also likes to slip and crawl.  That nap can also spell disaster if you cut a piece the wrong direction.  That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use buy that velvet and sew it into something gorgeous, you just need to go into your velvet sewing project prepared.  And Melissa at Melly Sews has a post that takes you step by step through sewing on velvet. 

Velvet is such a luscious fabric, especially for winter sewing projects.  Of course there are velvet Christmas sewing projects – stockings, tree skirts, santa hats – but velvet is beautiful for all winter.  Think of all the gorgeous velvet dresses, evening bags, hair accessories, even pillows and other home décor that you see all winter long. 

Melly Sews’ post gives you the tips and tricks you need to know in order for your velvet sewing project to end up a success.  There are types of projects better suited for velvets, and kinds of projects to avoid.  She describes the different types of velvet available.  And she also tells the best way to lay out and cut your pattern pieces from velvet fabric.  Her tutorial also covers marking, pressing, and of course sewing that beautiful fabric.  There’s also a video included in case that’s your preferred method for learning.

Head over to Melly Sews to learn how to sew on velvet fabric. 

And if you want to learn more about that lovely blue velvet dress shown, she has a post that tells more about it including 2 ways to style it depending on if you want to be more dressy or more casual.

[photo credit: Melly Sews]

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